Hello,
My mum (78) was diagnosed 5 wks ago, stage 2 invasive ductal breast cancer, lymph nodes were clear on scan.
She's been put on hormone therapy to keep things under control, and told her treatment will be mastectomy plus possible radio therapy afterwards.
She really doesn't want the mastectomy for several reasons, one being she feels it will really affect her psychologically so wants to explore other possibilities before maybe agreeing to it so of she has to go this route she will be more at peace with it.
Consultant has said there are no other options, just a mastectomy, or nothing, which doesn't seem quite right.
If she doesn't have surgery she will be hormone therapy for the rest of her life. We are looking in to getting a 2nd opinion but GP surgery is being unhelpful so we haven't managed to progress with this either.
Has anyone else had radiotherapy or chemo instead of surgery?
We are lost and going in circles, and time is passing, I'd appreciate any thoughts etc, thank you
Hi
so sorry to hear of your mums breast cancer I was 75 years old when diagnosed and be sure that your mum will get the best treatment for her regardless of age.
i had two tumours in my left breast that was found to be Her2-positive breast cancer.
My treatment started with weekly chemotherapy together with phesgo a targeted injection every 3 weeks which seems standard for this type of cancer.
This was followed by a mastectomy I was terrified but just wanted it gone. I decided against reconstruction as it would have been a longer operation and because my nipple could not be saved it meant frequent hospital visits to stretch the skin.
My consultant said I could always reconsider at a later date but I don’t regret my decision.
i am now receiving preventative treatment for 5 years.
Hope this information is helpful and wishing your mum well Xxx
Can I just add that chemo does not work with all cancers as I had two in one breast and although they were both Her2-positive the histology was different in both so consequently only one was cured by the treatment the remaining tumour was entirely removed by the surgery.
After my scars had healed I was fitted with prosthesis and they even fitted me with an enhancement for my right breast so even with tight fitting sweaters I can feel comfortable and confident about my appearance. M&S have lovely feminine post surgery bra’s.
Hope your mum gets the reassurance she needs from her consultant.
Take care X
Hello Skylark,
Thank you so much for your reply and for sharing your journey
What you've said is very helpful, especially what you explained about the chemo not working completely for you - I think she is also struggling to get her head around the fact that even although there are lots of treatments available for cancer much of it may not be applicable to her situation. I will share your reply with her when she's ready, I do think it would help her at sone point to be in touch with others who have gone through this too, but she's not ready for that yet.
I'm glad to hear you are coming out the other side of things, thank you again and I wish you all the best X
Hi, I dropped a reply on your other post, and I do think a call to the lovely folks at Macmillan could help, on 0800 808 0000. This is open to both your mum and also yourself.
Not sure what info you’ve found yet online, but I've popped a link here as this is quite comprehensive and might answer some questions for you as well. Best wishes to your mum and her decisions, it's a tough time for you all I am sure.
Hello,
Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it. I thought I'd posted in the wrong place initially which is why I then posted on here, I find forums etc very confusing.
I have spoken with Macmillan support 4 times, and also Maggies Centre and they were lovely, but they weren't able to clarify anything for us, in fact the last MacMillan nurse suggested posting here to see if anyone on the forum could help from personal experience. We have found a lot of info online but it's generally just overviews of possible treatment. That's why we are looking at a 2nd opinion so we can try to find out more detailed information.
Thank you, and best wishes
Try breast cancer now
it’s a charity but my phone won’t let me post a link
they have a forum , which is categorised and breast care nurses to help
Thank you - I have looked at their website but not tried calling, so I will try that
Thank you, I called them today and they were really great, I will encourage my mum to call them know Monday
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